Spring is the time of year that reminds us of rebirth. Winter was a time of trees with no leaves and bitter cold with no flowers to brighten the gloom. All seems dead and lifeless. Spring brings hope with birds singing, trees sprouting leaves, and the flowers pushing their way up from the ground. “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Farmers prepare their land for crops and then plant seeds. That shows faith. A seed goes into the ground, and it looks small and not at all like what is expected to grow. Yet, the seed is planted, and with water and nurturing, it grows into peppers or tomatoes. That’s a picture of what Christians are to do.

This world is filled with darkness, and the gloom of winter holds little hope, but we plant seeds of faith in Jesus Christ, and suddenly the promise of life eternal brings light into the darkness.

There are many people who live in fear of the darkness of this world. Wars and rumors of wars grip the heart of most people. Pestilence has come upon us, and fear generated by a small microscopic “bug” has caused a panic that won’t soon fade. Many people are in despair over this pandemic and the isolation forced upon us, and they choose suicide rather than go on living in the gloom. Then there’s famine. Famine isn’t just a shortage of food, although that is happening. The Prophet Amos said that the day would come when there would be a famine for the word of God. “Behold the days come, saith the LORD GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD” (Amos 8:11).

It’s not good to be hungry for food, but food will satisfy for a few hours, then we hunger again. Famine for the word of God leaves a hunger that can only be filled by faith in God. This famine is spreading throughout the world. Our pulpits and Bible teachers have watered down God’s word so much that it isn’t being taught in full, and people are left hungering for Truth. It’s easy to skip over “controversial” verses (and protect tax exemptions) and miss important truths in God’s word. Many Christians seem to be satisfied not hearing the full counsel of God’s word. This famine makes it difficult to share the Gospel with others. We can’t share what we don’t know.

Food shelves in stores are beginning to be bare, just like pulpits are becoming empty of God’s word. Instead of waiting for famine to end, it’s wise to do what you can to feed yourself and share with others. For instance, my daughter and I planted a garden; we’re talking about getting chickens and maybe a milk goat. Christians must do what we can to plant seeds of the Gospel so that people will be fed God’s truth. We don’t have to be Bible scholars in order to share the Gospel. You need to study Scripture and have a few verses memorized, but a good way to share God’s love is by your actions. If you treat others as you would like to be treated, you may make another person curious about why you’re so nice. You’ve planted a seed.

Pride and anger can get in the way of planting seeds in others. Remember, people are watching you, and your actions matter. When planting seeds of the Gospel, remember it’s not up to you to do it all. Even the Apostle Paul recognized that he only did part of the work. “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:5-6). Paul was a very powerful voice for God and a good example of mission work. He traveled with fellow Christians, and they all did their part. They were all dedicated to spreading the Gospel, and each one used their own personal assets to share God’s word. You need to do your part while others do their part.

You may not be the one who first shares Scripture with a person, but you may be the one who helps the seed to grow and flourish. We do our part, but God working through the Holy Spirit makes the seeds grow. It’s also the Holy Spirit who will give you boldness and the right words to say.

Today, people can see that things are getting crazy. There’s a general feeling that something big is coming. They’re right. Something big is coming, but only Christians have the answers. Biblical Prophecy will reveal what’s coming. Study it so that when someone expresses fear, you can have an answer. “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15). You can’t plant seeds if you aren’t prepared. The more you prepare yourself to share God’s truth, the more confidence you will have in sharing with others. Then, practice. Make a list of questions you might be asked, then find Biblical answers.

Don’t be afraid that you might not have an answer to a question a friend might ask. Just be honest. “I don’t know right off the top of my head. Let me look into it, and I’ll get back to you.” Fear comes from the fiery darts Satan shoots at you. Remember to combat them with the full armor of God. Read about that in Ephesians 6.

The Rapture is coming soon. Christians will be taken Home, and all who have rejected the free gift of salvation only found through Jesus Christ will be left on earth to face horrendous judgment. God is very fair and merciful. He has warned people through His word, so nobody has any excuse for not knowing. It’s up to Christians to plant seeds of faith before it’s too late. Share the Gospel with friends and family. Pray for God to give you the right words at the right time. Either plant the seeds or be the one to water what’s already been planted. Either way, you will be serving God, and He promises us rewards for our service to Him. The rewards will be in the form of crowns given to us when we stand before Him at the Bema Seat.

In his letter to the Christians in Philippi, Paul wrote, “Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved” (Philippians 4:1). If you read of Paul’s experience in Philippi, you will see that he suffered a lot of pain and anguish there, but instead of holding a grudge and getting even with them, he held Christ first in his attitude and his actions. In doing so, he planted many seeds of faith there, which grew into a Christian congregation. Paul didn’t do anything for his own glory but for Christ. Because of that, he knew that he would be awarded a crown for being a soul-winner.

The crowns earned are “stephanos,” which is a wreath or garland that was given as a prize in competitions. Paul wanted the crown in order to give it to Jesus when he met Him face to face. I want a crown, too, so that I can give it back to my Lord in love and gratitude for what He did for me. It may not seem important to you right now, but when you stand before Him and see the scars He bears because of His love for you, you will want to give Him your crown too. First, you have to earn one. There are many crowns you can earn, but they don’t have anything to do with your salvation. You can’t work to earn your salvation, but the desire to serve Jesus should drive you to serve Him. That service will earn crowns. Planting seeds of faith in lost sinners is one way to do that.

So, start preparing yourself to plant seeds of faith in the heart of a non-believer. Study Scripture to be sure His truth is firmly planted in your heart. Then start planting seeds of faith in others.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com
ron@straitandnarrowministry.com

Recommended prophecy sites:

www.raptureready.com
www.prophecyupdate.com
www.raptureforums.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you’d like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18).

Life is filled with many uncertainties, but there are a few things we can count on. God’s love is always there. His forgiveness and mercy to repentant hearts is assured. Death is another thing we can be sure of. “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Hebrews 9:27). The writer of Hebrews points out that death will come to everyone. The question is, when it’s you who faces death, where will you stand for judgment?

We read in Revelation about the Great White Throne judgment, and that can make anyone afraid to die. That will take place after the Millennium and isn’t for Christians. God is very patient with humanity and doesn’t want anybody to face eternity in the lake of fire. Mankind is naturally rebellious; we don’t like rules. Many rules seem silly until you understand why they are in place. When we look into Scripture, we can see that God’s rules are to protect us. The Garden of Eden was given by God, and all that was needed for life was there. Food, water, and fellowship with God.

“And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted and became into four heads” (Genesis 2:9-10).

It must have been beautiful. Adam should have been content there. He had all he needed, including animals, but it would be some time before they would be used for food. Death wasn’t known until after Adam made the choice to sin. There was one rule, and God gave that rule to Adam. “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17).

It doesn’t seem like a very difficult rule, but it was given to him when he was the only human around. It might be easier to keep God’s commandments when there’s no other person tempting you to sin, so be careful who you yoke yourself with. There’s no excuse for opposing God’s law.

God is never unfair. Adam was provided with all he needed, and God very clearly told Him the one rule and what the consequences would be for breaking that rule. Of all the riches available to Adam, there was only one tree forbidden for him to eat from. The restriction was for Adam’s protection. If he ate from that tree, he would die. God didn’t want that. He did want Adam to be content. God allowed Adam to name all of the animals. Adam gave them names, but there was no suitable companion for Adam amongst the animals. God decided to bless Adam with a wife. He put Adam into a deep sleep and created woman from one of his ribs. Adam made a very profound statement when he awoke from his sleep.

“And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:23-24).

This is the model of marriage. One man and one woman (another simple rule that is broken daily). Adam knew that there would be children, those children would have their own children, and so on. He also knew that as the children grew up, they would marry and become their own family — a husband, a wife, and the children.

Then trouble happened. Eve listened to the twisted lies of Satan. Instead of listening to what Adam had told her that God had said, she was confused by Satan’s words and listened to his lies. God had entrusted man with authority, but Eve decided to listen to Satan. Many centuries later, the Apostle Paul wrote to the young pastor, Timothy, and explained to him the structure of authority within a congregation and why.

“But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression” (1 Timothy 2:12-14).

As I write these commentaries, I make sure that I am under my husband’s authority. He was a man of God who held Christ in authority. He was not a man who could be deceived. I pray over what I write, and I only study the men Ron studied or those whom I’m absolutely certain he would have studied.

Unfortunately, Eve ate the forbidden fruit and offered it to Adam. Instead of standing firm on what he knew God had said, he joined Eve in sin. They didn’t drop dead as we think of death, but they lost their immortality and could no longer live in the Garden that God had provided for their delight. Now, instead of one simple rule, God gave many. Instead of living in Paradise with God, it was required of Adam and Eve to work for food, which wasn’t so easy to come by. They had children, and anger and jealousy led to murder when Cain killed his brother, Abel.

Life became more and more evil until God said enough is enough. Noah was told to build an Ark in order that his family, who were genetically pure, and certain animals could be saved through God’s judgment. God never sends judgment without much warning. Noah spent many, many years building the Ark at a time when it hadn’t even rained. He was mocked because he chose to obey God’s rules, and God used him to restart life after the Judgment. People watched as Noah and his family entered the Ark and as the animals began to enter. Still, their hearts were hardened. Then, it was too late. The rain began to fall.

“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven opened” (Genesis 7:11).

God’s judgment had come. God never acts without warning. Adam had been told, Eve had been told, the pre-flood people had been warned, but only Noah heeded God’s warning.

After the flood, people began to multiply, and they also began to sin. Instead of loving God, many worshipped idols and participated in pagan rituals…which are all satanic and filled with sinful practices. God called Abraham out of a very pagan culture, and through him he established the Jewish nation. Eventually, Moses was given the Law, and the Jewish people were expected to live separate from the pagan world around them. God always makes it clear how to live life in order to please Him. We all have a choice. The entire creation is evidence that there is a Creator, and only those people who are intent upon rejecting God are blind to His truth. There’s no excuse for rejecting God.

“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

We see the result of ignoring God. Every day we are appalled at headlines telling of murder, abortion, perverted sexual lifestyles, and much more. Why does this all happen? “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:21-22).

Today, God is rejected and replaced by the lie of evolution. His rules of marriage are mocked by people who prefer one-night-stands, living together without marriage, and same-sex relationships instead of the beautiful love between a godly man and a godly woman who honor God with their lives. God is patient but will not allow corruption to continue.

“For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their woman did change the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet” (Romans 1:26-27).

When God is rejected, evil prevails. God will judge.

Is there any hope? Yes, there is. We all have a choice of following God’s rules or living life on our own terms. We have Scripture to give us the facts we need to make a wise decision. We can dig into God’s word and see that when Adam chose to reject God’s rule, death became real. We can see that when evil ruled men’s hearts instead of God’s truth, judgment was sent in the form of a worldwide flood, destroying all who opposed God. God has always made a way for mankind to find salvation, and in this dark world filled with evil, God has made a way for us to live eternally.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:16-18).

We make our own choice. We live once, and judgment comes after death. No second chance and no reincarnation. “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). The choice to accept Christ must be made while living in this world.

All who have rejected Jesus Christ will face judgment at the White Throne of God. They will be judged by their works, and there are no works you can do that are enough to save you. The final judgment will be at the end of the Millennium after Satan has deceived many during the Tribulation and they’ve taken his mark. This judgment will be for all people of all time who have rejected God. Remember, creation shows the evidence of a Creator. Job had gone through much suffering and sorrow but never lost faith in God. He made the proclamation, “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth” (Job 19:25).

We are in those latter days, and judgment is coming. “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Revelation 19:20).

Not only are the Beast and the False prophet spending eternity in the lake of fire, but the devil will be there too. “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).

Still, there’s more. If you haven’t accepted Christ and your name isn’t written in the Book of Life, you will be there too. “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God: and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works” (Revelation 20:11-12).

Nobody can be saved by works. Only faith in Jesus can bring salvation.

Faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ will keep you from the seven years of the Great Tribulation and from the Great White Throne judgment. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of ourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).

All who truly believe will be judged, not at the White Throne, but at the Judgment (Bema) Seat of Christ. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Works matter for rewards, but they won’t save us. We lay a foundation in life and build on that foundation with works. “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay stubble; every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward” (1 Corinthians 3:12-14).

Anything that was not done for the glory of God is wood, hay, and stubble and will be burned. “If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire” (1 Corinthians 3:15). When standing before Christ, who gave His life for your salvation, you will want to have rewards instead of a pile of ashes. This judgment will happen after the Rapture. Christians will not go through God’s final judgment.

God won’t hold His judgment forever. Those of us who yearn for the Rapture can see many signs that point to it happening soon. God doesn’t want anyone to face eternity in the lake of fire. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness: but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

God is patient, but there will come a time when He won’t wait any longer.

So, the question is, where will you stand on the day of judgment? Will you stand before Jesus at the Bema Seat because you’ve accepted His free gift of salvation? Or will you stand before the Great White Throne being judged by your works alone and looking at eternity in the lake of fire that burns for ever and ever? Make your decision for Christ now.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com
ron@straitandnarrowministry.com

Recommended prophecy sites:

www.raptureready.com
www.prophecyupdate.com
www.raptureforums.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you’d like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.